What love really is
by hanhanx-x-x
Summary: Mattie, Ric, Rocco, Drew, Lucas, Belle and Cassie were the best of friends but Drew did something that broke Mattie's heart. What friendships will last? Who will fall in love? Who will betray one of the others? Also Jack and Martha and maybe others.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a bit different from what's actually happened on home and away. You have to pretend they all go to school still and that Rocco is still alive and Matilda and drew dated!_

"Mattie, wait, please!" Drew shouted as he ran down the beach after her. Mattie stopped and turned to face him. She blinked and a small tear managed to escape from her eyes. As Drew looked at her all the guilt he had been ignoring for the past month surged through his body stronger than ever.

"Was I not good enough for you? Please Drew, tell me what's so wrong with me that you would go behind my back and sleep with our best friends mother for the past month? Why don't you love me?" Mattie asked him as she looked into his eyes. Drew moved closer and wiped away her tears gently.

"I'm sorry Mattie, I did love you but I don't know I guess the more time I spent with Amanda the more I wanted to be with her. I didn't want to hurt you but I was drawn to her." Drew admitted. Mattie stepped back from him.

"I hate you" she told him softly before running away towards the house she knew her best friends would be. As she reached the door she heard the laughter and wished she could join in.

"Mattie, are you ok?" Lucas asked as she entered the house. Mattie shook her head and made her way to the other side of the room where she broke down in Ric's arms. Sally, Alf, Martha and Jack exchanged worried glances with each other as Ric tried to calm Mattie down.

"H-h- he cheated o-on me" Mattie cried.

"What? With who?" Rocco asked loudly.

"A-a- Amanda"

"As in my mum?" Belle checked. Mattie nodded and Ric tightened his grip on her. Sally shook her head angrily as Lucas and Belle ran out the house.

"I'm so sorry Mattie" Cassie whispered.

"I am too. I really thought he loved me"

"He's a complete idiot Mattie. You're better off without him!" Jack said confidently.

"Yeah, any same guy would choose you over Amanda" Cassie added. Mattie shook her head.

"I would and so would Lucas, Rocco and Jack" The guys nodded to confirm what Ric was saying.

"I loved Drew though. I truly believed he loved me" Mattie admitted.

"So did we" Sally whispered.

"Looks like he's been swept in by the famous Amanda Vale charm" Alf announced

A couple of days later Mattie left to meet her friends with Lucas so they could walk to school together. As Mattie and Lucas approached them they spotted Drew and Amanda.

"Oh, hi Matilda" Amanda greeted the younger girl coldly.

"Come on Mattie, lets just go" Lucas whispered as he pulled her over to Rocco, Cassie, Belle and Ric.

"Don't be rude Matilda. You cant just ignore us." Amanda said as her and Drew followed.

"Mum why can't you just leave her alone?" Belle looked at the group before walking away. Ric sent a warning look to Drew before following her.

"Isn't it enough you broke my heart? Do you have to rub it in my face as well?" Mattie whispered.

"Your both jerks!" Cassie said before dragging a teary Matilda away.

"I think you should watch what your doing to Matilda because she's like my sister and I don't like people hurting my family. I'm not scared of you Drew and I don't like you. Remember I have the ability to hurt you just as much as you've hurt Mattie and I'm wiling to do it." Rocco threatened.

"Come on mate, lets go and see if Mattie's ok" Lucas said to Rocco as Drew quickly walked away.

"Belle, are you ok?" Ric asked as he collapsed on the beach next to her.

"No it kinda sucks that my best friend is upset because her boyfriend cheated on her with my mum"

"Yeah it does suck"

"I can't believe I didn't even know about it"

"What would you have done if you did know?"

"I would have tried to stop it. Just anything so Mattie wouldn't have ended up hurt"

"It's not your fault" Ric told her

"I still feel guilty though" Belle whispered.

The group of teenagers enter there lesson just in time for the bell and sat thinking.

"You six, wake up and get into your pairs now" Dan said to them. Mattie looked at Ric who shrugged and sat with Rocco and Lucas whilst Drew moved next to Mattie.

Cassie and Belle's table.

"Are you feeling better now?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah kind of, I just don't know how to act with my mum and Drew now" Belle admitted.

"You cant seriously be thinking of talking to Drew can you? Mean you have to talk to Amanda as she's your mum but there is no reason to talk to Drew" Cassie said angrily.

"Drew is our best friend!" Belle shouted standing up.

"Mattie's our best friend. Drew was our best friend!" Cassie stood up as well as she shouted.

Lucas, Rocco and Ric's table.

"So do you think we should talk to Drew at dinner" Lucas asked.

"What? No way man" Ric answered quickly.

"Why would we?" Rocco asked him

"Because he's our best friend" Lucas stated

"No. Not after what he did to Mattie." Rocco said firmly.

"We cant just ignore him" Lucas hit the table as he got worked up.

"Why?" Ric asked as if Lucas was stupid.

"Because there are two sides to every story" Lucas stood up as he got angrier. Ric and Rocco laughed as they stood up.

"Yeah and we know what Mattie's is so who cares about Drew's" Ric spoke loudly.

"He messed about with an amazing girl by having sex with some slut so I hope you don't mind Luke but we're not to bother about his side of the story!" Rocco shouted.

Mattie and Drew's table.

"Look Mattie, I'm sorry about this morning" Drew whispered

"Did I not pay you enough attention? Is that why you went for Amanda?" Mattie asked not bothering to keep her voice down.

"Of course you did"

"Was I not pretty enough?"

"No! Mattie your beautiful"

"Am I not clever enough or should I say stupid enough?"

"Mattie your per-"

"Is it because I don't have loads of money, or own a house? I s it because I don't have any children?" Mattie stood up and kicked her chair over. Drew jumped up and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Is it because I wouldn't have sex with you?" Mattie shouted pushing Drew away. She pushed him again but harder causing him to fall.

"Just why? I don't understand why guys find it so easy to break my heart, to leave me or find someone better?" Mattie said quietly as tears strolled down her face.

Dan Baker told everyone to get in there pairs and sat down at his desk. He looked through his notes for his next lesson until he heard someone standing up.

"Drew is our best friend!" Belle shouted as Cassie began to stand up as well.

"Mattie's our best friend. Drew _was_ our best friend!" Before Dan could stop the argument Rocco, Ric and Lucas stood up.

"Yeah and we know what Mattie's is so who cares about Drew's"

"He messed about with an amazing girl by having sex with some slut so I hope you don't mind Luke but we're not to bothered about his side of the story!" The class listened to the arguments but carried on with their own chats as well. Rocco, Ric, Lucas, Cassie and Belle were oblivious to everything else going on until they heard Mattie.

"Is it because I wouldn't have sex with you?" Everyone fell into silence watching as Drew was pushed to the floor. They all turned to look at Mattie.

"Just why? I don't understand why guys find it so easy to brake my heart, to leave me or find someone better?" Drew looked away as he saw the pain in her eyes as she cried.

"Ermmm, well I'll see you all next lesson" Students slowly began to pack away and leave the room at Dan's words.

"I'd like to talk to you seven" he told them. Lucas and Belle helped Drew up whilst Cassie picked up the chair that had been knocked over. Rocco and Ric moved Mattie over to a chair so she could sit and then sat either side of her. Cassie joined them whilst Lucas. Belle and Drew sat at the other side of the room.

"I'm not going to tell you off. I want to help you so you guys need to talk and then we can try and solve some of your problems." The teenagers nodded at Dan.

"Belle, do you want to start?" he asked.

"I love Mattie, she's my best friend and I hate seeing her so down. I hate what Drew's done to her but I can't turn my back on him. He was my first real friend. He accepted me for who I really was. We've been through a lot together and I can't just say goodbye to our friendship. I want to be there for Drew and Mattie." Everyone looked at Lucas.

"You all know Mattie's basically like my sister but Drew is my best friend. I want to understand why he did what he did. I don't want to turn my back on him when maybe he never meant to hurt Mattie"

"I'll explain for you all then. I loved Mattie so much. I found myself attracted to Amanda though. Sometimes I'd go over to see Belle but she wasn't in so I'd just talk to Amanda. Things felt different with her. I was drawn to her no matter how hard I tried to stop it. I couldn't help but want to be with her. She's exciting, experienced, dangerous, beautiful, and different and I guess I find her sexy. I want to be with her" Drew admitted. Matilda quickly stood up and ran out.

"We'll continue another day" Dan said.

"Do you mind if I go after Mattie?" Belle asked.

"Go ahead" Cassie smiled as Belle and Dan left the room and she turned and slapped Drew.

"That's for hurting Mattie" she slapped him again.

"That's for hurting me and the rest of the group. And this is for causing arguments between us!" Cassie shouted before punching him. Drew fell back onto the table and covered his nose as it began to bleed. Ric and Rocco laughed whilst Lucas shook his head. Cassie looked at him again before exiting the room in tears.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much for the reviews. Without them I probably wouldn't have done a second chapter. Advice, ideas and thoughts are really needed so please review and tell me what you think!_

"Mattie, are you ok?" Bella asked quietly. Mattie turned round to face her and smiled slightly. They leant against the lockers and slid down to the floor.

"Honestly I feel terrible but it's going to be ok. I know it is." Matilda replied eventually looking away from Belle.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to let another guy hurt me. I've been through to much and I am not going to let myself be messed around anymore. I'm stronger than that." Matilda explained softly.

"I'm sorry Drew" Cassie whispered sitting next to him on the beach.

"Me too" Drew ran his hands through his dark curly hair whilst Cassie sighed heavily.

"I was just so hurt. You cheated on Mattie! But not just that you betrayed us all. Its Belle's mum. She's your best friend and has been for a while. You two went out, you've through so much and now you're putting her through this! Lucas has stuck by you through a lot and he still is doing now. You need to think about what you're doing to him and Belle. You know Ric and Rocco trusted you with Mattie. She's like their sister and because you're their best friend they thought you'd look after her. But they were wrong!! And me. I'm just sorry" Cassie finished talking and wiped away a few tears before Drew took hold of her hand.

"Cassie, please I need you and I'm going to make it up to you. All of you. I'm gonna finish it with Amanda. You lot mean so much more to me then she does."

"Are you gonna try and get back together with Mattie?" Cassie asked looking at Drew closely. He looked back at her and knew she wanted the truth.

"No. I just want our friendship back. I love Mattie but I'm not in love with her anymore" Cassie looked away and found herself feeling slightly happier.

"Hey, Tilly, Ric and Rocco have been ringing for you all night" Jack announced as she entered the house. She smiled slightly before sitting down next to Jack. She was lucky to have such supportive friends.

"So how are you feeling?" he asked putting his arm around her and moving closer.

"I'm fine Jack, you don't need to worry about me" Mattie told him.

"I can't help it" he told her warmly. Mattie grinned and kissed him on the head lightly before standing up.

"Goodnight Jack"

"Sweet dreams Mattie" he closed his eyes as she left the room and smiled.

"Amanda, we need to finish things" Drew told her sternly as he entered her living room.

"What?" she looked up at him startled.

"You have a house, a car, a son, a daughter and bills to pay. I have exams, friends, girls, parties, annoying adults telling me what to do and spending money. We can't be together. It's not right. Besides it's either you or my friends and I want my friends. I need them" Drew smiled before turning around and walking back outside for where Cassie was waiting.

"Who's the man?" he joked making Cassie laughed.

"Not you as we're both quite a bit past our curfew" Cassie told him as she started to run quickly away from Amanda's house with Drew following.

Belle watched Cassie and Drew run away before sitting down on her bed and laughing. Cassie had forgiven Drew already after being so angry at him in the afternoon. Cassie could never stay angry at Drew for long. Belle remembered spending hours and hours trying to convince Mattie that Drew liked her and that there was nothing going on between Cassie and Drew.

"Well I suppose it's gonna happen sooner or later" Belle muttered to herself as she lay back and picked up her phone to check for text messages. She had three. One of Rocco saying

'Are you with Matilda? We can't get hold of her!'

One of Lucas saying

'Don't worry about Mattie, Jack's on the case. He says she's fine but he'll keep an eye on her. How are you coping?'

The last one was from Matilda saying

'I met the cutest guy tonight; I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Don't worry about me I'm fine! xox.

Belle sighed heavily and put her phone down. Rocco and Ric were always worrying about Matilda. If only they could have saved her from the worst of it. Not even Jack knew about that. Lucas was so sweet, he wasn't just thinking about Mattie but her as well. Belle felt a bit more relieved now she knew that Jack was watching out for Mattie. He always did anyway. Sometimes it seemed like Mattie was the only person he truly cared about except for Tony and Lucas. This cute guy probably meant bad news. And Mattie saying don't worry means they have to worry even more. Belle was preparing herself for a rollercoaster ride.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks so much for the reviews. As its half term at the moment I am going to try and update as much as possible. I need plenty of advice and ideas though else I might end up running out and I really want to finish this story! I don't know what couples I am going to have so if you have any suggestions I will try and fit them in the story!_

"Ok, so he is so hot" Mattie squealed running up to Belle.

"Who is?" Cassie asked turning around from where she was stood talking to Rocco and Ric. Mattie grinned whilst her friends surrounded her.

"I met a guy last night on the beach." Mattie informed him.

"Who is he?" Lucas asked.

"How old is he?" Rocco crossed his arms and exchanged worried looks with Belle and Ric.

"He's called Nick and he's 19" Mattie replied before walking away.

"This isn't good" Ric commented as they began following her.

Drew grinned as he took his seat next to Cassie in class and she bit her lip nervously waiting for everyone's reaction.

"Hey Drew, did you finish your assignment?" Lucas asked smiling at Cassie who began to relax.. Drew nodded and Belle laughed.

"Well I suppose you had nothing better to do" she joked. Matilda slammed her books on the table before turning around to talk to Ric and Rocco.

"What the hell are they playing at? They don't actually expect me to have forgiven him yet?" Rocco shrugged whilst Ric smiled sweetly at Cassie.

"Have you spoken to Amanda since you finished things last night?" Cassie asked quietly. Matilda, Ric and Rocco all looked over at Drew as Belle dropped her drink.

"You dumped her! So that's why she was getting drunk all last night. Well finally some good news" Lucas smiled at Belle as Drew turned to face Mattie.

"I'm sorry. I know I've hurt you and I wish I didn't. I should never have cheated on you. I just want to be friends again. I need you."

"Save it, you're not forgiven yet." Mattie whispered.

Ric grabbed Belle by the waist and pulled her onto his knee. She giggled and made herself comfortable in his arms.

"So Bumble Bee, how are you?" Rocco asked sweetly passing her a chocolate milkshake. Belle took a sip of it and examined them both closely.

"Ok so what do you want?" Belle asked standing up so she could see them both properly.

"Well Mattie's going to a party tonight and we were wondering if you and Lucas would go along with her. We can't but someone needs to keep an eye on her" Ric explained. Belle nodded and sat down next to Rocco.

"Are you guys gonna forgive Drew?" she asked quietly.

"Belle it's not even been a week yet since we found out. Mattie's heartbroken and it's because of him. We have no reason to forgive him" Rocco told her sternly.

"He was your best friend"

"Yeah and he betrayed us. Mattie is ten times more important to us and we aren't even going to think about forgiving him until Matilda's sorted out" Ric told her before getting up and leaving.

"You guys have no idea what Matilda's going through and you hating Drew is not going to make her feel better!" Belle snapped as Rocco stood up to leave as well.

"Martha, are you ok?" Cassie asked sitting down at the table next to her. Martha shook her head and wiped away a few tears.

"Jack said we're never going to get back together. He likes someone else" Martha admitted looking down at the table.

"I'm so sorry Martha. Did he tell you who the other girl is?"

"No" Cassie nodded as she understood and hugged her tightly.

"You know Jack would know how to cheer me up" Mattie complained taking a sip of her drink. Nick folded his arms and sighed heavily.

"Well Jacks not here"

"Why is he not here?" Mattie whined looking around the beach.

"Mattie, can we talk?" Belle asked as her and Lucas joined them.

"I want Jack. I'm not moving or talking until Jacks here" Lucas smirked as he saw Mattie thinking about what she'd said.

"Ok, I'll talk. Did you know I once considered being a lesbian? I thought all guys were out to get me." Mattie laughed and took a gulp of her drink and turned to look at Nick.

"Who are you again?"

Jack sighed and looked up as Lucas and Belle rushed in.

"What's wrong?" he asked them noticing the stressed atmosphere.

"Well Mattie's at that beach party with some guy she hardly knows and drunk. She keeps talking about you and says she won't move until your there." Belle explained.

"I suppose we best go then" Jack stood up and exited the house with them.

"Are you ok Jack?" Lucas examined his brother and noticed his strange mood.

"I'm fine. Well I will be as soon as I know Matilda's ok"

"Go away. I don't know you and I don't want to!" Mattie snapped as Nick tried to kiss her again.

"It's me, Nick, the guy you met yesterday" Mattie shook her head and shoved him away. Nick sighed and grabbed her arm.

"Where's Jack? I want Jack?" Mattie asked as she pulled away from him and fell slightly. Nick caught her and held her up straight.

"Who the hell is this Jack dude? You've been talking about him all night."

"I'm Jack" Nick and Mattie both turned to look at him as he, Belle and Lucas approached them quickly.

"Jacky" Mattie made her way over and fell into his arms while Nick walked away.

"You know it was a year yesterday since I was raped" Mattie announced as Jack lifted her into his arms "it seems like God has some sort of plan to knock me down as much as possible"


	4. Chapter 4

_I am so sorry I haven't updated in ages! I'll try and update sooner from now on. Thank you for the reviews. Please tell me any ideas you have or advice._

"What Mattie said yesterday is it true?" Jack sat down on the couch and looked around at the group. Lucas shrugged his shoulders whilst the others looked at each other. Belle looked down at the floor and felt a few tears escape.

"Belle, what's going on?" Cassie asked. Mattie walked in the room and folded her arms. She was pale, her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her eyes were red from crying.

"I met a guy and I suppose you could say it was love at first sight. He seemed so sweet and just perfect. I didn't tell anyone about him because I just thought it was too good to be true. I was right as well. I told him to stop but he wouldn't" Jack stood up and took hold of Mattie's hand.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ric shook his head and waited for an answer.

"I couldn't, it was hard enough to tell Belle and I just wanted to forget it and move on. I'm so sorry" Mattie fell herself breaking down again and ran back into her room followed by Jack.

"Why does it happen to me all the time? I can't cope with this anymore!" Jack wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head lightly.

"Mattie it's gonna be ok. No one is going to hurt you anymore. I'm gonna make sure of that ok"

"I can't believe you knew all of this time and never told us" Rocco sighed sitting down the beach as far away as he could get from Drew but still talk to the group.

"I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"I wish we could have been there for her" Drew whispered.

"You're not so good at that though are you? You'd rather be the one joining in on hurting her!" Ric snapped. Cassie looked up whilst Rocco smirked.

"Shut up Ric" Ric shook his head at Lucas.

"Why should he?" Rocco clenched his fists.

"This is stupid"

"No, you're stupid!"

"Guys, will you stop. We know that Drew hurt Mattie and he regrets that. Don't you think we should be moving on and helping Mattie." Belle interrupted the argument.

"Belle it only happened a week ago, unlike you we can't just forgive and forget. We're the ones being there for Mattie when you lot are acting as if Drew's the most amazing guy ever!" Ric got up and walked away followed by Rocco.

"What's happened to us?" Belle wiped away the single tear from her cheek and looked around.

"Jack why is it so easy for a guy to do these kind of things to me? Do I really mean that little?"

"I can't answer those questions"

"Why?" Mattie pleaded with her eyes desperate for answers. Jack leant wiped away her tears and shook his head

"Could you just hurt me like that or leave or replace me?" Mattie turned her back on him and moved away "Would you find it easy? Do you understand why it happens to me?" Jack ran his hands through his hair "Would you do the same thing? TELL ME!"

"No! No I wouldn't!" Jack grabbed Mattie and turned her away "I could never do that" he pulled her too him and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Mattie kept them still not knowing what to do. After a couple of minutes Jack pulled away but kept his eyes shut. Mattie felt herself begin to move backwards onto her bed.

"I'm so sorry" Jack whispered tears threatening to spill over his eyelids.

"Just get out"

"Please Tilly, I'm sor-"

"Just get out!" Mattie screamed throwing a glass at the wall next to him. Jack left the room and came face to face with Martha.

"What's going on?" she asked nodding towards Mattie's room.

"S-she- I –its complicated" Jack struggled to string a sentence together, his lips were still tingling from touching Mattie's, his pulse beating faster and he felt dizzy questioning what had just happened.

"Jack I think we need to talk about this other girl" Martha moved towards the couch but stopped when Jack took hold of her arm.

"Martha as you can see now's not really a good time"

"Well when will be?" Martha shouted pulling her arm away from him.

"Just stop being so selfish. Can't you see there are other things going on in this world except from your problems?" Jack hit the wall as he shouted. Martha turned around and took a deep breath.

"Please just leave me alone" Jack looked slid down so he was sat against the wall and Martha nodded before leaving the house. Mattie took the pillow away from her ears as she heard Martha leave. She pulled her quilt over her and closed her eyes. It felt like she didn't have control of her life anymore. Everyone was going wrong. She thought things were finally right, she had her friends, her loving boyfriend, and she'd learnt to live without her family around her and had settled down in school again. But now, she didn't know who she could trust.

"One day we'll work things out. We'll end up where we are meant to be" Drew answered confidently.

"But what if it's like this all the time. We begin to feel happy and then yet again everything gets messed up. How many more problems can we face? How much more will Mattie get through?" Drew held Cassie to him as she cried.

"Mattie's strong. Everyone is. Compared to others we're not doing so badly. We just have to look at the good things in our life like the love and support we have from those around us. What we are going through is life." Drew nodded in agreement with Lucas whilst Belle stood up.

"We need to stop feeling so sorry for ourselves. Sitting here is not going to help any of us and I am fed up of going through life like this all the time" Belle stood up and walked down the beach. It was time to take control of her life.


	5. Chapter 5

_It's been ages since I've updated and I'm so sorry!!!! I'll try my best to update sooner, you'll just have to bug me until I do if you like my story. Please review and if you have any ideas just let me know._

Ric slammed his hand on the table as Sally rushed in

"What's going on?" she asked

"This is driving me insane!" Rocco shouted "We just found out that Mattie was raped and Belle knew about it. Mattie's depressed whilst the others expect us to forgive Drew and hang out with him!"

"Maybe you should"

"What?" the two boys stared at Sally shocked she was not taking their side.

"All I'm saying is that Drew hurt you all especially Mattie but he's paid for that by losing you all. Now the others have realised that and have forgiven him because he's their best friend and they love him no matter what. The can see that he's sorry. He regrets it and knows how much you all mean to him"

"I just can't get over the fact that he betrayed us like that" Ric admitted.

"Everyone makes mistakes. Look at you two. If I hadn't learnt to forgive the things you had done in the past and look at the people you were becoming I would have lost out on a lot. You and Mattie and everyone else are going to be hurt again and again by those you love as it's just part of life. You need to keep moving, life's to short and when you look back on it you need to make sure you have no regrets which may mean forgiving Drew." Sally kissed them both on the cheek before heading back upstairs.

"I hate to admit it but she's right" Ric rolled his eyes at Rocco at they both grinned. Sally and Mattie were the only two people in the world who could talk sense to him. He didn't know where he'd be without them.

Jack paced up and down his room not being able to believe what he'd done. He couldn't stop himself though. She questioning his feelings for her and thinking so low of herself. He just wanted to prove how much she meant to him. In a way though he was now just like every other guy though, he'd hurt her. He'd knocked yet more stability out of her life. He was someone she trusted but he'd lost that now. Ric was the only person who Mattie knew that would never hurt her. Ric was Mattie's best friend and no one would ever be able to mess with that. She would need him more than ever now that Jack had messed up his own relationship with Mattie because of his stupid feelings. He couldn't control them anymore; they were just getting stronger and stronger.

Belle headed down to the beach and waited patiently for Mattie.

"Mattie, what's happened?" she asked as Mattie sat down on the ground. Mattie shook her head and began to cry quietly.

"He kissed me" she whispered as Belle took hold of her hand.

"Who did?"

"Jack" Mattie looked down at the floor.

"Wow. I mean why? When?" Belle tried to get her head around it as Mattie tried to find the right words.

"I was upset as you know and Jack was trying to make me feel better. I don't even know how it happened, one minute I was shouting at him and then he kissed me. I don't know what to do anymore"

"Oh Mattie, I'm so sorry" Belle wrapped her arms around Mattie as she sobbed.

"Drew we're sorry" Drew turned around to face Ric and Rocco.

"No guys I was in the wrong, you two were just trying to help Mattie" Ric smiled whilst Rocco patted Drew on the back. They looked around awkwardly before chatting like nothing had happened. The guys weren't so good at emotional reunions. They stopped as Martha ran past crying and Ric shrugged before following his cousin. Martha stopped on the beach and collapsed into Ric's arms as she cried.

"I think me and Jack are over forever. He hates me."

"Martha, jack doesn't hate you, he's just going through a lot at the moment trying to support Mattie and other stuff."

"That's the thing though, Mattie's always the most important to him, it's the same with you as well" Martha pulled away and ran her hair through his hands "Mattie's always first. Why can't someone care about me that much for once?" Ric didn't know how to answer. Martha was his cousin and he loved her but he had to admit Mattie always came first to him along with Sally. When it came to Jack he always suspected there was something deeper than friendship between him and Mattie.

"It confused me" Mattie was walking up the beach with Belle "I didn't know what was happening or how to act" Mattie looked down at the tissue she'd been shredding in her hands since she'd finally run out of tears.

"Do you have feelings for him?" Belle asked quietly.

"I don't know anymore, I used too but I pushed them away knowing it wasn't gonna happen between us. But now I don't think I can ignore them. I'm messed up though. I need to sort my head out first. I'm not over Drew yet and Jack's probably still in love with Martha. It would be wrong for us to be together and I'm sure he was just trying to make me feel better and the kiss meant nothing." Belle nodded understanding what Mattie was talking about.

Ric smiled as Mattie entered his room.

"You look tired" she whispered curling up on the bed next to him.

"That's what you get from trying to cheer Martha up" Ric joked "are you ok?"

Mattie nodded and closed her eyes, she hadn't slept properly since her and Drew had broken up. With Ric it felt as if nothing else mattered because he would never hurt her. She felt safe.

"I love you Tilly" Ric whispered as she began to drift to sleep.

"I love you too" Mattie smiled and fell asleep. Sally poked her head around the door and looked at the two teenagers. She smiled and was soon joined by Cassie.

"She's lucky to have you guys as friends" Sally smiled proudly as Cassie grinned.

"We're lucky to have her"


End file.
